If I believed that Canadian dollars did not circulate, that they performed
no economic service of any kind, then my interest in them would vanish to a
rapid zero. Happily, I am not obliged to believe any such thing because the
situation is not of this kind. It assuredly is true that they have a very
limited circulation, but it is not the fault of the dollars.

One
thing that seems to be generally well known is the craze for souvenirs which
seems to afflict many people of the
United States. Even those who live in the American Union find it puzzling at times and no one
can really explain it. A few years ago the battleship
Missouri
was put on display and the public invited aboard to see what it was like. The
officers and men of it, being wise in their generation, removed everything that
it was thought possible to pick up and carry off. Guards were on hand to prevent
the illegitimate picking up of things. And what happened?

It
was most amazing. Despite all exercise of care, any number of small objects were
found missing; objects of no possible value except to the souvenir crazed.
Surprisingly, enough, no attempt was made to carry off the anchor. Does all this
have any bearing on the dollars? It most certainly does.

Dollars
that get over the border have histories of two different sorts. They have one
history which is concerned with souvenir hunters and they have another which is
concerned with collectors. But without regard to which history it may be, both
end in the same way. I mean by this that in practically no instance do the
dollars get back to
Canada.

Souvenir
hunters defy description. They know little or nothing about the coins they hold;
they rarely seek information; they are almost entirely unknown to dealers and
collectors, and many of them are distinctly difficult people to understand. Yet
some knowledge of them is absolutely necessary in numismatic research on such a
subject as the dollars. Why? Because they hold far more of them than do the
collectors. Like it or not, they cannot he ignored in a study of this kind.

Spokane
has two banks that handle foreign exchange: the Spokane Eastern Trust and the
Old National. Both have about the same Canadian dollar history. Over a 10 year
period something more than 300 of the coins have gone to each bank. How many
went back over the border to
Vancouver,
British Columbia? None at all. The best were sold to interested collectors and to people wanting
them as souvenirs.

For
every dollar that reaches the banks at least 10 more fail to do so. These are
the dollars that are claimed by the souvenir hunters. It is impossible for me to
imagine that a Canadian dollar could change hands five times in circulation.
More frequently than not they stop with the first person. Needless to say, all
other denominations are allowed to circulate. They excite no interest as
souvenirs, save to occasional outside visitors, because they are too common and
have no novelty value.

On
the basis of the submitted 10 to 1 ratio,
Spokane
souvenir coins would be around 6.000. The collectors of the same area could not
even begin to boast such a number of them. This being true, it is at once
evident that collectors do not monopolize the dollars. What is true of
Spokane
is equally true of
Seattle, Buffalo, Bellingham,
Detroit, and numerous other places along the border.

An
extreme instance of souvenir Canadian dollars may be seen in
Eureka, Montana. This small town of 1,500 is close to the border and Canadian visitors are
severely limited in number. Eureka has only one bona fide collector and he is interested in
United States
dollars, not those of Canada. Despite unfavorable circumstances, the town has about 25 pieces, none of them
held by collectors.

There
has been some talk about possible resumption of gold coinage by the Dominion.
Technically, by the way, Canada is still on the gold standard. Should such action really he taken, and I do not
for one moment believe it will, it would be an act of foolishness on the part of
Canada wholly wanting in precedent. If the dollars are seized upon at such a rate,
what would we expect of gold coins? Not a single one of them would ever see a
bank.

Previous
mention has been made of the fact that the totem pole (1958) coins circulated
freely in Bellingham. This was only possible because they appeared in such numbers as to be no
novelty. It must be kept in mind that British Columbia
received nearly half of the total large coinage, something hitherto quite
unknown.

What
is their Canadian circulation history? It is very much the same as that of the
United States. Although for a long time not particularly dollar conscious, Canadians of today
have an esteem of the coins unknown in times past. In their earlier history,
many of the Dominion citizens were quite unaware of the fact that a dollar was
minted and knowledge of them was built up rather slowly.

Strange
to relate, there are some instances on record in which tradesmen have refused to
accept the dollars. I heard this story more than once and was somewhat skeptical.
However, I finally had it proved to my entire satisfaction.

Some
years ago I offered a Canadian dollar in payment for cigarettes and it was
promptly declined. Both amazed and amused, I enquired as to whether or not any
other denomination would be accepted. An answer was given me in the affirmative.
I then wanted to know what was wrong with the proffered dollar and was given no
answer. The storekeeper just said he wouldn't take it. Of course, he thought it
was a fake or a token of some kind, probably the latter. Quite likely it was the
first Canadian dollar he had ever seen. The same coin, offered at another place,
was given a warm welcome.

Four
years ago, I was called upon to grade 2,000 or more United States
dollars for a man who was the owner of a cabaret near
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Grading them was easy enough as he was not too particular; he merely wanted to
know the ones that would be worth keeping. In the course of the grading I
encountered about 15 Canadian dollars. They interested me a great deal.

In
general, they were the most beaten up Canadian dollars that I had ever seen.
They actually showed evidence of considerable usage. Enquiry being made as to
their value, I told him that no collector would want a single one of them; that
they were all common dates, that they had been handled too much and too
carelessly. He nevertheless kept them and I suppose that he expects them at some
time to become quite valuable. Experiences of this kind are common enough with
the dollars.

Although
it may appear that I have made a very poor case for their circulation, it is
true that they do circulate. Collectors claim only a modest number, and if the
souvenir hunters would only let them alone, a thing which they will obviously
never do, then it must be admitted that they would have quite a fair history of
circulation.

United States
dollars, placed in similar circumstances, show exactly the same history. These
coins are a novelty in many parts of the
Union
and they also meet with skepticism and refusal in some areas of the country.
Souvenir hunters would make it impossible for them to circulate in any part of
the Deep South. As a matter of fact, they can readily be sold for twice face value, provided
they are good specimens. Therefore, the dollars of Canada
are by no means unique.

We
have noticed general public loss of interest in large silver coins. Paper is
preferred by the majority because it is more convenient. Therefore the dollars
of Canada can never circulate except in minor degree. As pointed out before, it assuredly
is not the fault of the dollars. In any event, large numbers of them are not to
be found in banks as happens to he true of the United States.

Future
circulation history makes a subject of great interest. Small as it has been, it
is apparently due for further shrinkage. Dollars come over the border in
decreasing number and the old days when they could be picked up from banks is
largely a thing of the past. Banks in Canada have been raided for all the dollars they possessed. A Calgary
dealer informed me that several thousand totem pole dollars were returned to Calgary
banks as being unfit for collectors. Despite this, an inspired citizenry fell
upon them very much as locusts descended upon Egypt
in ancient times.

This
particular section of my work owes much to kindness of banks in
Canada
and the United States who proved generous with time and assistance. Only an occasional bank failed to
reply and many of them went into detail, showed genuine interest in what was
being done, and made themselves helpful in ways that I had not even imagined.
More than 40 were contacted and thus enabled me to get a very good idea as to
the general history of the dollars in circulation. A good number of those who
are employed in banks have numismatic interests in some degree and a few of them
are collectors.

The entire contents of "Canadian Silver Dollars" are ęCopyright
1961. Permission is granted to non-profit organizations and to individuals
for their personal use, to copy any of the material contained herein, on the
condition that such copies are not to be sold or otherwise used for profit, and
that Patrick Glassford is shown as the source of such information or material.

The Canadian Error Coins website (est. in 1997 by Patrick Glassford) is a
division of the Canadian Numismatic Publishing Institute, established in 1958 by
Somer James, publisher of many fine Canadian numismatic publications such as
"A GUIDE BOOK OF CANADIAN COINS, CURRENCY & TOKENS" and
"CANADIAN SILVER DOLLARS" by Starr Gilmore.

The Canadian Numismatic Publishing Institute (CNPI), and all its
existing copyrights,
are the sole property of Patrick Glassford.